Reporter and commissioners press pause on plan to move many public notices online-only

David Dunn Reinking, a reporter with the Winter Haven Sun and Four Corners Sun, told the board that the proposed ordinance to stop publishing some notices in the newspaper could reduce transparency for redevelopment and rezoning matters. "If you pass this ordinance the way it's written, it will direct staff to say, do not publish those in the paper anymore. Only publish those on the county website," Reinking said, and urged the board to separate redevelopment/rezoning notices from other categories.

County counsel and staff outlined three categories of notices: (1) items already required by statute to be published, (2) non-statutory notices (including some land-development items currently run in the newspaper), and (3) notices paid for by applicants that historically provided additional public visibility. Staff said the resolution could be amended so that notices required by statute or tied to land-use processes would continue to appear in print while other routine or administrative notices could be posted online only. County counsel recommended pulling the ordinance and returning with a tailored resolution; the board directed staff to workshop the approach and amend the ordinance so land-use items remain published in the newspaper while other items could move online.

Chair and commissioners expressed concern about perceptions of reduced transparency for contentious development matters, and the board agreed to remove the item from the agenda for revision and further discussion at a briefing. The board did not adopt the ordinance during the meeting.